Apparatus for automatically digitizing photographic slides

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for automatically digitizing slides, the apparatus including a slide feed assembly (2), at least one digitizing and input station (D), and a reception assembly (2&#39;) for receiving slides that have been digitized in this way. Each slide feed and reception assembly (2, 2&#39;) includes at least one drawer (6) containing a removable magazine (11) which may be rotationally driven about a vertical axis and including at least one removable slide storage element (12). Transfer systems (14, 21) serve firstly to feed slides from a storage element (12) of the removable magazine (11) to a central turntable (15) which places the slides successively before various workstations including the digitizing and input station (D), and secondly transfer slides after digitizing from the central turntable (15) to a storage element (12) of a removable magazine (11) placed in said reception assembly (2&#39;). The slide feed assembly (2) and the slide reception assembly (2&#39;) may be the same assembly.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for automaticallydigitizing photographic slides for the purpose of digitally inputtingimages from the slides.

It is known at present how to input images digitally from slides.However, since this is performed manually, the resulting digitizingprocess is extremely slow. Furthermore, when the operation relates tothousands of slides, it is necessary to have a plurality of inputstations available and thus a plurality of operators if reasonable ratesof throughput are to be achieved.

The present invention seeks to remedy these major drawbacks, and inparticular to enable a single input station to obtain inputautomatically from a very large number of slides in a very short periodof time.

This object is achieved by an apparatus for automatically digitizingslides, the apparatus including a slide feed assembly, at least onedigitizing and input station, and a reception assembly for receivingslides that have been digitized in this way, the apparatus beingcharacterized in that each feed and reception assembly includes at leastone drawer containing a removable vertical magazine and including atleast one removable slide storage element, and in that it includes atleast one transfer system serving firstly to feed slides from a storageelement of said removable magazine to a central turntable which placessaid slides successively before various workstations including saiddigitizing and input station, and secondly to transfer slides afterdigitizing from said central turntable to a storage element of aremovable magazine placed in said reception assembly.

In a first embodiment of the invention, the slide feed assembly and theslide reception assembly are disposed in line on opposite sides of thecentral turntable, the first and second transfer systems being disposeddiametrically opposite each other on opposite sides of the centralturntable.

In another possible embodiment, the slide feed assembly and the slidereception assembly are the same.

In another embodiment, a single transfer system serves firstly to feedthe central turntable with slides from a first storage element of theremovable magazine of the single feed and reception assembly, andsecondly to transfer the slides, after digitizing, from the centralturntable to a second storage element of said removable magazine.

Advantageously, the central turntable is a rotary turntable underdigital control and includes, in addition to the digitizing and inputstation, at least one of the following additional stations: a stationfor displaying the frame of a slide; a station for repositioning a slideby means of a manipulator; a station for pressing down a slide by meansof a manipulator; a station for reading characters on the frame of aslide by optical character recognition; a station for reading bar codesthat appear on the frame of a slide; a station for deleting inscriptionsthat appear on the frame of a slide; alphanumeric marking station forwriting alphanumeric characters on the frame of a slide; a bar codemarking station for writing bar codes on the frame of a slide; a rejectstation for rejecting unsatisfactory slides; and a de-dusting station.

Other advantageous characteristics stem from the particular embodimentsof the invention given below.

Said storage element is in the form of an open topped vertical bar ofsquare section adapted to the slides to be digitized and of a heightthat is adapted to the desired storage volume, one of the longitudinalfaces of the bar including an opening of restricted width up its entireheight, and said storage element includes a bottom in which an openingis formed of section smaller than that of the slides to enable theslides to be stacked and unstacked with the help of a pusher penetratinginto said opening.

The storage element includes a bottom end and a top end co-operatingwith positioning means formed in said removable magazine.

Similarly, said storage element comprises a channel section barconnected by hinges to two angle section bars, a clamp tilting aboutfixing holes formed in the channel section bar in order to engage inlocking holes formed in the angle bars and thus close said storageelement that said hinges enable to open when the clamp is raised.

Said storage element further includes a longitudinal rectilinear tongueformed on one of its inside faces and designed to co-operate with anotch formed in an edge of each slide. It is perforated with variouspatterns and includes, in particular, a diagonal slot formed in one ofits longitudinal faces to enable the classification of slides to bevisually inspected.

According to a particular characteristic, said removable magazineincludes a central shaft interconnecting an intermediate plate and abottom plate which are fixed relative to said central shaft and whichinclude aligned openings for receiving storage elements.

The shape of an opening formed in the bottom plate is complementary tothe shape of the tapered bottom end of a storage element in order toposition the storage element vertically.

The removable magazine further includes a top plate provided with ahandle and capable of rotating relative to said central shaft, and saidtop plate has peripheral tips that come flush over each storage element.

The top plate of the removable magazine carries a spring-and-ballassembly co-operating with said hole formed at the top end of a storageelement in order to lock it in place.

According to another particular characteristic, the removable magazinecomprises a vertical central shaft interconnecting an intermediate plateand a bottom plate which are fixed relative to said vertical shaft, eachof the plates being provided in its periphery with guide pieces that arefixed radially and between which the storage elements can slide.

Said central turntable is constituted by a disk having housings piercedin is periphery for the purpose of receiving slides, said slides lyingin said housings over respective openings that make it possible todigitize and input said slides by allowing light from a light source topass therethrough.

Advantageously, the slide is held in place over the housing by a pusherwhich, under the effect of a spring, urges said slide againstpositioning pegs disposed on faces opposite from the faces on which saidpusher acts directly.

In one configuration of the invention, the slide feed assembly and theslide reception assembly are the same, constituting a single assemblyincluding a single removable magazine, which may be constituted by twofixed storage elements held by guide elements so as to define an angularsector.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appearmore clearly from the following description given with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an overall view of apparatus in accordance with the inventionfor digitizing and inputting photographic slides, the view being mainlyin elevation, and partially in section on line II of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the FIG. 1 apparatus, on line II--IIof FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 to 5 are a front view, a plan view, and a side view of a storageelement adapted to the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are respectively an axial section and a fragmentary planview of a removable magazine receiving storage elements as shown inFIGS. 3 to 5;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view of the central turntable of a station ofthe invention with housings fitted with slide-holding systems based onsuction, on an electromagnet, and on a pusher;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are sections on line IX--IX and X--X of FIG. 8respectively showing a suction system for holding slides, and anelectromagnet system for holding slides;

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of the electromagnet holding system of FIGS.8 and 10;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the digitizing and input apparatus in anotherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a section through another embodiment of the removablemagazine; and

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary plan view of the FIG. 12 magazine.

Reference is now made to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1and 2 which comprise a general diagrammatic view of apparatus of theinvention for automatically digitizing images. More precisely, FIGS. 1and 2 are respectively a front view and a plan view of such apparatus.

The apparatus of the invention is in the form of a piece of officefurniture comprising a tabletop 1, a feed assembly 2, and a receptionassembly 2' which are powered from single-phase 220 V mains by means notshown. The tabletop 1 is about 1 meter (m) by 2 m and is designed toreceive the single input station comprising input means 3 that may be acamera or a scanner, for example, and a vertical support 3' therefor,two graphics screens 4 and 4, and a keyboard 5. Each of the twoassemblies 2 and 2' supporting said tabletop 1 includes a plurality ofdrawers 6 capable of being moved on slideways 7 by an operator acting onrespective handles 8. In one embodiment, each drawer 6 includes a rotaryturntable 9 rotated by an electric motor 10 and supporting a removablemagazine 11. The removable magazine may contain up to sixteen storageelements 12 each containing several hundred slides. An actuator 13 inassociation with a manipulator 14 enables the slides to be extractedfrom the storage element 12 and placed on a central turntable 15. Theperiphery of the central turntable 15 is pierced with housings 16 forreceiving the slides and for allowing light to pass from a light source17 to the camera 3. An electric motor 18 rotates the central turntable15 which stands on a support 19. Workstations A, B, C, and D forexample, enable different functions to be performed, with the mainfunction being digital input 3, 3' and 17 under the control of computermeans.

The apparatus of the invention is organized around these variousfunctions which correspond to specific technical means.

Firstly the slides that are to be digitized must be stored. Storageelements 12 are used for this purpose and the structure and operationthereof are described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

A storage element 12 is in the form of a square section bar of aluminum,plastic, or other material and its height varies depending on thedesired storage volume. For example, a height of 300 mm makes itpossible to store about 200 slides. The front face of said storageelement 12 has an opening 121 running up its entire height, therebymaking it easier to stack slides. The slides are placed one on top ofanother starting from the bottom 122 of said element 12. The element 12also includes an opening 123 suitable for allowing a pusher 190 to passthrough for the purpose of unstacking the slides. A tongue 124 in theform of a half-disk is glued or fixed to the entire height of saidelement 12 and is suitable for being received in notches provided forthis purpose in the frames of the slides, thus acting as keying means.The bottom 122 may be flat but on the outside it may also be tapering at125 so as to facilitate installation in a removable magazine 11 that isspecially adapted for the purpose or in an external storage bin. A hole126 enabling such positioning to be checked and also enabling robotizedstorage may also be provided in the back or in a raised portion 127 ofthe storage element 12.

Advantageously, the storage element 12 may be perforated with variousdifferent patterns in order to allow air to flow or to reduce itsweight, or else it may include a diagonal slot 128 in one of its facesto make quick visual inspection of previously-marked slides possible.Similarly, to facilitate stacking a larger number of slides, it may bepreferable for said storage element 12 not to be made as a single barbut rather to be built up from a channel section bar 129 that isconnected by means of hinges 130 to two angle bars 131. Thus, byrotating the bars 131 about the hinges 130 it is possible to open thestorage element 12 and thereby enable it to be loaded with slides fromthe front, rather than solely from above. After loading has beenperformed it is possible, by tilting a clamp 132 down about fixing holes133 to keep the storage element 12 closed by means of first projections134a engaging in first locking holes 134. On unloading, the procedure isreversed: after pressing on the bars 131 of the clamp 132 in an upwardsdirection, the clamp is tilted about the holes 133, thereby enablingsecond projections 135a to be received in second locking holes 135 ofsaid storage element 12 (position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4),whereupon the element can be opened and the slides can be removed alltogether. Removing slides and also loading slides is facilitated bytilting the storage element 12 so that it stands on its clamp 132. Studs136 secured to the front portion of the clamp enable the opening 121 tobe kept constant. The assembly obtained in this way is particularlysimple to use. It enables a variable quantity of slides to be storedregardless of the kind of slide mount used, e.g. plastic, glass, orcardboard, and this can be done without any kind of separation.

To satisfy requirements for processing several thousand slides, it isnecessary, prior to such processing, to bring together a plurality ofstorage elements 12. To do this, use may be made of a first type ofremovable magazine 11 whose structure and operation are described withreference to FIGS. 6 and 7. Constituted by a variable number of storageelements 12 (e.g. 8 or 16), the magazine comprises a central shaft 110connecting an intermediate plate 112 to a bottom plate 113, both ofwhich plates are fixed to the central shaft 110. A top plate 111provided with a handle 114 that facilitates transporting the magazine 11is mounted so as to be capable of rotating freely about the centralshaft 110. The intermediate and bottom plates 112 and 113 includeopenings 115 and 116 which correspond to the openings 120 of theturntable 9 to enable storage elements 12 to be positioned vertically,the opening 115 being complementary in shape, e.g. conical, so as tomatch the wall 125 of the element 12. Three conical studs 117 secured,e.g. to the turntable 9, serve to enable the turntable 9 to center theremovable magazine 11 and to apply thrust thereto. The storage elements12 are loaded into the removable magazine 11 and the magazine is loadedinto the drawer 6 in several stages. While the removable magazine 11 isremoved, it is fitted with the storage elements 12, the top plate 111 ofsaid magazine 11 being in the position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 7.Once this filling operation has been completed, rotating the handle 114causes the top plate 111 to rotate so that its tips 118 lie flush withrespective storage elements 12 where they have their upwards extensions127. Simultaneously, the ball of a ball-and-spring system 119 secured tothe top plate 111 takes up position in the hole 126 provided forreceiving it, thereby completing vertical positioning of each storageelement 12. It is advantageous to observe that it suffices for a singlestorage element 12 to be improperly positioned to prevent the operatormoving the top plate 111 at all. This provides particularly simpleverification that the storage elements 12 are properly positioned. Withthe drawer 6 opened by means of the handle 8 (see FIG. 2), the loadedremovable magazine 11 is placed on the turntable 9. The drawer 6 is thenclosed. Proper positioning of the magazine 11 or of the drawer 6 isverified by sensors such as microswitches or photoelectric cells (notshown). It should be observed at this point that it is possible tooperate the apparatus with a single storage element 12. Under suchcircumstances, the turntable 9 is not necessary since the removablemagazine 11 needs only to support the single storage element which canbe put into place manually.

With the slides now in place, they are ready for automatic processing inwhich the first step consists in unstacking the slides one by one so asto bring them to the various workstations.

Reference is made again to FIG. 1. The effect of the actuator 13 is topush the slides upwards. The manipulator 14 then peels off a first slideby means of a vacuum-producing assembly having an electrical vane pumpor the equivalent (not shown), this assembly constituting a firsttransfer system. After taking a slide, the manipulator 14 performsmovement in rotation or translation (depending on the type ofmanipulator used) and the slide is placed on the central turntable 15whose structure and operation are described with reference to FIGS. 8 to11.

The central turntable 15 is constituted by a disk of suitable diameter,advantageously about 700 mm, being pierced in its periphery by somenumber of housings 16 for receiving in the horizontal position theslides from the first transfer system. The slide rests on the bottom 151of said housing, an opening 152 enabling light to pass for the digitalinput system 3, 3', 17 in which the camera or scanner 3 constitutes theessential element. To ensure that the slide is properly positioned andto avoid any possible warping, the slide is pressed against the bottom151 by a device of one of three different kinds, all three being showntogether in FIG. 8 for simplification purposes.

One of the systems shown in FIG. 8 is a pusher system. In thisdisposition the housing 16 is a notch extending radially from theperiphery of the central turntable 15. The width of the slide is greaterthan that of the notch so the slide stands on the housing and it is heldin place by four positioning pegs 145 disposed around the slide and by apusher 146 whose drive from a spring 147 tends to urge the slide againstthe pegs. While the slide is being installed, the pusher 146 iswithdrawn so that the spring 147 is then compressed, e.g. by means of anelectromagnet (not shown) under the control of the computer means. Oncethe slide has been put into position, the electromagnet is de-excitedand the spring is released, thereby bringing the pusher into contactwith the slide and thus ensuring that the slide is held firmly.

Advantageously, the pusher 146 is placed at a corner of the slide, withtwo of the pegs 145 then being disposed in the opposite corner, theother two pegs being placed on the two sides that are not in contactwith the pusher. In addition, in order to make it easier to remove theslide manually, two perforations 148 may be provided on either side ofthe notch 16 so as to receive two fingers of an operator.

FIG. 9 shows a suction system in greater detail. The suction is createdby a vacuum pump (not shown) which is connected to four suction cups 153via a valve and two channels 154. When the slide is about to be releasedby the manipulator 14 and placed in the housing 16, the valve is opened,thereby releasing suction which sucks the slide and holds it against thebottom 151. The valve is then closed and the slide remains held in placeuntil the valve is opened again while transferring the slide to thereception magazine.

FIG. 10 shows an electromagnet system. This system is more complex andit also requires mechanical parts to move. An electromagnet 155associated with rodding 156 enables two thrust blades 158 to pivotsimultaneously about stationary axes 157 for the purpose of holding theslide. At rest, these thrust blades 158 are received in two retractiongrooves 159 formed in the bottom 151 of the housing 16. When the slideis about to be released by the manipulator 14, the electromagnet 155 isexcited. The thrust blades 158 stand up and occupy passages 160 providedfor this purpose in the housing 16, after which the slide is placed onthe bottom 151. When the electromagnet 155 is de-excited, return springs161 cause the two thrust blades 158 to move down again so that theirfaces 162 press the slide against the bottom 151. During transfer to thereception magazine, exciting the electromagnet 155 again causes thethrust blades 158 to stand up again thus allowing the slide to be takenaway.

More simply, a slide may be held down by pressing a mask thereagainstwhich is held in position by a manipulator or it may be held downdirectly by a fork-shaped arm of the manipulator. Such amanipulator-fork assembly may constitute a specific workstation of theapparatus that may be referred to as a "conforming" or a "pressing"station.

It may be observed that none of the three above systems prevents theslide being positioned manually, with the slide subsequently beingremoved, for example, by means of a suction foam connected to the vacuumsystem of the first transfer assembly by means of a handle provided witha trigger for controlling suction or merely by hand when the housing 16is in the form of a notch in the turntable 15 enabling the fingers ofthe operator to pass therethrough.

Reference is made again to FIGS. 1 and 2. Rotation of the centralturntable 15 enables each slide to be presented in succession to thevarious workstations A to D. These are fixed on standard base plates 20that are disposed around the central turntable 15 on a support 19,thereby making them very easily interchangable and also enabling theapparatus to be adapted to new functions.

The bottom of the base plate is fitted with two centering pegs and witha fixing screw enabling it to be positioned and fixed on any one of theworkstations and thus eliminating any problems of adjustment.

This aspect is dealt with in the factory when each base plate is mountedon the corresponding fixing support of the various means.

The first function performed by the apparatus of the invention isorienting the slide. That is to say repositioning a wrongly positionedslide so that it is the right way up and the right way round so as toenable it to be input properly. For this purpose, correspondingworkstation A has an assembly (not shown) including a cell that sensesor does not sense a light source illuminating a corner of the slide, anda manipulator enabling the slide to be rotated or turned over so as toposition it. In a minimal configuration of the apparatus of theinvention, the slide is then brought to workstation D which correspondsto digital input of the image. It includes elements that have alreadybeen described, a light source 17, a camera or scanner 3, and a support3' which are associated with computer means (not shown for the mostpart, except for the graphics screens 4 and 4') that serve to controlthe entire apparatus. This mainly comprises graphics processing of theimage, managing image files and displaying them, and supervising theautomatic equipment concerning rotation of the turntables and the ratesat which digitizing and manipulation are performed (in particular thecentral turntable 15 must pause for about 5 seconds while inputting istaking place). Once inputting has been completed, the slide is broughtto a second transfer system analogous to the first and including, inparticular, a manipulator 21. Thus, the slides are stacked again oneafter another, retaining the unstacking order, but in a new storageelement 12 of a new removable magazine 11 contained in a drawer 6 of areception assembly 2' that is an image of the feed assembly 2.

In a more advanced configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus ofthe invention may include up to nine workstations, including the twotransfer systems. However, if the manipulators 14 and 21 are movedfurther apart, e.g. so that they are separated by an angle of about 270°about the central turntable 15, then there would be room for even moreworkstations, or the same result could be achieved by increasing thediameter of the central turntable 15. It would also be possible to useonly one manipulator in association with a feed assembly 2 and areception assembly 2' by considerably modifying the respectivedispositions of the removable magazines 11 and of the central turntable15, or else it would be possible to use a single removable magazine 11belonging to a single device both for feeding and for receiving theslides. In which case it would be possible to envisage a removablemagazine that does not rotate but that merely possesses two storageelements, one for feeding slides and the other for receiving slides.These two elements preferably bear against a cylindrical surface so asto occupy a circular sector.

FIG. 12 shows a configuration including a single removable rotarymagazine 11, a central turntable 15, and two manipulators 14 and 21.

The manipulator 14 which unstacks the slides may be driven with a singletranslation motion and with two up-and-down motions. The manipulator 21which performs restacking must also be capable of an orienting motion toreposition slides properly in the storage element 12 after they havebeen extracted from the housings 16 (the position of a slide aftertranslation and before rotation is shown in dashed lines on the centralturntable 15). It should be observed that these operations of restackingand of unstacking could also be performed by a single manipulator, butat the cost of reduced throughput.

One or more workstations may be allocated a specific marking function.It may be advantageous to mark the supporting frame (mount) of eachslide with a classification reference mark that may be expressedreadably or in the form of a bar code associated with a commentary inthe clear concerning the subject or photographer. To do this, a firstworkstation may be constituted, for example, by a labelling machinecapable of placing said bar codes on the mounts of the slides andoperating in communication with the computer means. Another workstationmay include an ink jet printer for writing the desired text in theclear. Similarly, bar code reader means or character reader means may benecessary for automatically identifying a particular slide or aparticular batch of slides. A workstation including a scanner or otheroptical means would then be useful. When reworking an existingcollection, it may be necessary to change identification in the clear orin bar code on a slide mount that has already been annotated. First theexisting text is read, and then a white strip is deposited or printedand finally the desired text is reprinted. It may happen thatidentification is not possible, in which case printing is not performed.Under such circumstances, it is useful to provide a reject station forunsatisfactory slides and for substituting a reject slide with anotherslide referred to as a "pseudo-slide" that is easily recognizable, forexample by having a colored mount (unlike normal slides that generallyhave a white mount). Such a station consists in a linear manipulator 150enabling the reject slide to be taken from the central turntable 15 andplaced in a first storage element 12 and then enabling a pseudo-slide tobe taken from a second storage element 12 and placed on the centralturntable replacing the reject slide. This operation is repeated foreach unsatisfactory slide. At the end of the digitizing process, theslides put away in the first storage element 12 are processed manuallyand then reintegrated in the storage elements in the reception magazineinstead of the corresponding easily-identified pseudo-slides. To allowfor optional drying, the printing and reprinting stations may be placed,for example, at B and at E as shown in FIG. 1. Finally, it is alsoadvantageous to provide a de-dusting station.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show another embodiment of the removable magazine 11.The magazine 11 includes a hollow cylindrical body 165 rotated about acentral vertical shaft 166 by a drive motor 167 disposed parallel to thecentral shaft, with the coupling between the motor and the cylindricalbody being provided by a sprocket wheel 168 and a cog belt 169. Thedrive motor and the vertical central shaft are fixed to a support 170secured to the drawer 6, and ball bearings 171 mounted on the centralshaft allow the cylindrical body 165 to rotate relative to the centralshaft 166.

Fixing elements 172 serve to fix plates 173 and 174 to the cylindricalbody 175, said plates having regularly spaced apart T-shaped pieces 175fixed to their peripheries for guiding the storage elements 12. Thereare twenty-four of these guide pieces 175 for a removable magazine thatcontains 12 storage elements, and they are disposed radially at theperiphery of an intermediate plate 173 and of a bottom plate 174 of saidmagazine 11 in order to co-operate respectively with the top portion andwith the bottom portion of respective storage elements 12.

The storage elements 12 are held in the vertical position by the guideelements 175 between which they are capable of sliding. Retaining means176 formed at the ends of the guide pieces prevent the storage elementsbeing ejected by centrifugal force. Abutments 177 secured to the bottomplate 174 by fixing elements 178 prevent said elements 12 movingvertically under the effect of gravity by coming into contact with thebottom 112 of the storage elements 12. After the storage elements 12have been installed in the removable magazine 11, these elements arelocked in place by rotating a top plate 179 that is in the form of a12-sided polygon if the magazine 11 has twelve elements 12, with thetips 180 of its edges coming flush with each of the storage elements 12.A vertically movable pusher 190 can penetrate into the storage elements12 through their open bottoms 122, thereby enabling slides to be stackedand unstacked.

The cylindrical body 165 is mainly constituted by two portions thatengage one in the other, an inside portion 181 to which the sprocketwheel 168 is fixed and that remains in contact with the central shaft166 when the magazine 11 is extracted from the drawer 6, and an outsideportion 182 which supports the bottom, intermediate, and top plates 174,173, and 179, and which can be lifted off by means of a handle 184.Cushioning pads 183 fixed to the outside portion 182 of the body 165 atits bottom plate 174 and its top plate 173 limit shocks when theremovable magazine 11 is being put into place. Proper positioning of themagazine is verified by various sensors or photoelectric cells, e.g. anelectromagnetic sensor 185.

It should also be observed that the computer means enable the apparatusto be highly flexible, and in particular they enable slides to beprocessed in batches, which may be classified or reclassified as afunction of various criteria. Thus, while the slides are brought to thecentral turntable 15 by means of the manipulator 14, the othermanipulator 21 unloads slides that correspond to a selected andrecognized criterion. The cycle is repeated for other criteria. Onceprocessing has completed, all of the slides are to be found in thereception assembly 2' and the computer means have full knowledge of thecontents of the storage elements 12 contained in the removable magazine11 of said assembly 2'.

In addition to the various functions described above and that can beperformed in a single pass of a slide due to the design of the station,the invention also makes it possible to implement all of thepossibilities that batch processing offers.

Each batch may be identified by a pseudo-slide that can be detected by aphoto cell. In this case the pseudo-slide is constituted by an ordinaryslide frame on which notes appear concerning the entire batch of slidesto follow. This pseudo-slide thus includes a video image. The beginningand the end of each batch are thus identified and can be used fortriggering special operations.

In addition, if it is assumed that all processing is terminated by anempty batch, the pseudo-slide for identifying the empty batch serves toidentify the end of processing.

A pseudo-slide also serves to perform operations at the beginnings ofbatches. That is when data common to all of the slides in the batch isgenerated.

For example, the following information may appear on a pseudo-slide:

    ______________________________________                                        Identification:   report number                                                                 date                                                        Legend:           photographer's name                                                           place                                                                         event.                                                      ______________________________________                                    

The above data can be duplicated on each slide mount in the batch and/orcan be automatically integrated in the text data base associated withthe batch that is about to be processed.

The data may be stored in various different ways:

a) on the mount portion of the pseudo-slide. Under such circumstances,it is necessary to have a bar code reader or an OCR reader and toprovide check keys for verifying that reading has taken place properly;

b) on a hard disk or floppy disk file that is predefined before inputtakes place;

c) by stopping the station which emits a signal for the attention of anoperator who is then required to key in the data that is to beduplicated.

Other operations may be triggered:

counters may be reset to an initial state;

images may be transferred over a network; etc. . . . .

Various end-of-batch operations may be likewise triggered by anend-of-batch pseudo-slide:

totals may be displayed;

checks may be started concerning the number of slides digitized, thestorage space available, etc. . . . ;

various functions concerning imagers and documentary searching.

For optimizing sorting, mechanically speaking, two rotary systems needto be controlled:

i) the central turntable 15 which is very light in weight; and

ii) the turntable 9 of the removable magazine 11 for reception purposes.

Since the reception magazine has only one pusher, each rotation of oneor more storage elements 12 requires the pusher to be lowered and thenraised. It is therefore necessary to minimize rotations of the turntable9.

To do this, slides are handled as follows:

Stage 1

The first slide positioned on the central turntable 15 is read todiscover the first character or the first string. The turntable 9 ispositioned accordingly.

Stage 2

The system continues to feed the central turntable 15 with slides andsimultaneously slides corresponding to the first letter or the firststring are unloaded. The controlling software records all the stationsthat have been released in order to be able to refill them. This stagecomes to an end when there remain no further slides on the turntable 15belonging to the first character or the first string.

Stage 3

To define the second string or the second character to be taken intoaccount, the software analyzes the contents of the central turntable 15so as to perform an optimum selection that enables the largest number ofslides to be unloaded. Once this selection has been performed,processing returns to stage 2.

Stage 4

Once all of the slides have been processed, the removable receptionmagazine 11 has one or more storage elements 12 containing all of theslides corresponding to a character or to a string. The software canthen print out or display this distribution. The user then has theoption of continuing processing for:

sorting on a last character;

merging strings.

Under such circumstances, the magazines are swapped over and processingreturns to stage 1, the software now having knowledge of the contents ofthe storage elements 12.

Naturally, the software manages volume displacements with reference tothe capabilities of the storage elements 12.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for automatically digitizing slides,the apparatus including a slide feed assembly (2), at least onedigitizing and input station (D), and a reception assembly (2') forreceiving slides that have been digitized in this way, the apparatusbeing characterized in that each feed and reception assembly (2, 2')includes at least one drawer (6) containing a removable verticalmagazine (11) and including at least one removable slide storage element(12), and in that it includes at least one transfer system (14, 21)serving firstly to feed slides from a storage element (12) of saidremovable magazine (11) to a central turntable (15) which places saidslides successively before various workstations including saiddigitizing and input station (D), and secondly to transfer slides afterdigitizing from said station (D) to a storage element (12) of aremovable magazine (11) placed in said reception assembly (2').
 2. Anapparatus for automatically digitizing slides according to claim 1,characterized in that said storage element (12) is in the form of anopen topped vertical bar of square section adapted to the slides to bedigitized and of a height that is adapted to the desired storage volume,one of the longitudinal faces of the bar including an opening (121) ofrestricted width up its entire height, and in that said storage element(12) includes a bottom (122) in which an opening (123) is formed ofsection smaller than that of the slides to enable the slides to bestacked and unstacked with the help of a pusher (190) penetrating intosaid opening.
 3. An apparatus for automatically digitizing slidesaccording to claim 2, characterized in that said storage element (12)includes a tapering bottom end (125) and a top end (127) that extendsone of the longitudinal faces of the storage element (12) and is piercedby a hole (126), said bottom and top ends (125, 127) co-operating withpositioning means formed in said removable magazine (11).
 4. Anapparatus for automatically digitizing slides according to claim 2,characterized in that said storage element (12) comprises a channelsection bar (129) connected by hinges (130) to two angle section bars(131), a clamp (132) tilting about fixing holes (133) formed in thechannel section bar (129) in order to engage in locking holes (134)formed in the angle bars (131) and thus close said storage element (12)that said hinges (130) enable to open when the clamp (132) is raised. 5.An apparatus for automatically slides according to claim 2,characterized in that said storage element (12) further includes alongitudinal rectilinear tongue (124) formed on one of its inside facesand designed to co-operate with a notch formed in an edge of each slide.6. An apparatus for automatically digitizing slides according to claim2, characterized in that said storage element (12) is perforated withvarious patterns and includes, in particular, a diagonal slot (128)formed in one of its longitudinal faces to enable the classification ofslides to be visually inspected.
 7. An apparatus for automaticallydigitizing slides according to claim 1, characterized in that theremovable magazine (11) comprises a vertical central shaft (165)interconnecting an intermediate plate (173) and a bottom plate (174)which are fixed relative to said vertical shaft (165), each of theplates (173, 174) being provided in its periphery with guide pieces(175) that are fixed radially and between which the storage element (12)can slide.
 8. An apparatus for automatically digitizing slides accordingto claim 1, characterized in that said removable magazine (11) includesa central shaft (110) interconnecting an intermediate plate (112) and abottom plate (113) which are fixed relative of said central shaft (110)and which include aligned openings (116 and 115) for receiving storageelement (12).
 9. An apparatus for automatically digitizing slidesaccording to claim 8, characterized in that said storage element (12)includes a tapering bottom end (125) and a top end (127) that extendsone of the longitudinal faces of the storage element (12) and is piercedby a hole (126), said bottom and top ends (15, 127) co-operating withpositioning means formed in said removable magazine (11); and the shapeof an opening (115) formed in the bottom plate (113) is complementary tothe shape of the tapered bottom end (125) of a storage element (12) inorder to position the storage element vertically.
 10. An apparatus forautomatically digitizing slides according to claim 7, characterized inthat the removable magazine (11) further includes a top plate (111, 179)provided with a handle (114, 184) and capable of rotating relative tosaid central shaft (110, 165), and in that said top plate (111, 179)provided with a handle (114, 184) and capable of rotating relative tosaid central shaft (110, 165), in that said top plate (111, 179) hasperipheral tips (118, 180) that come flush over each storage element(12).
 11. An apparatus for automatically digitizing slides according toclaim 10, characterized in that the top plate (111) of the removablemagazine (11) carries a spring-and-ball assembly (119) co-operating witha hole (126) formed at the top end (127) of a storage element (12) inorder to lock it in place.
 12. An apparatus for automatically digitizingslides according to claim 10, characterized in that the bottom plate(174) of the removable magazine (11) carries an abutment (177) forco-operating with the bottom (122) of the storage element (12) toprevent any downward vertical displacement thereof.
 13. An apparatus forautomatically digitizing slides according to claim 1, characterized inthat said central turntable (15) is constituted by a disk havinghousings (16) pierced in its periphery for the purpose of receivingslides, said slides resting in said housings over respective openings(152) that make it possible to digitize and input said slides byallowing light from a light source to pass therethrough.
 14. Anapparatus for automatically digitizing slides according to claim 13,characterized in that the slide is held in place over the housing (16)by a pusher (146) which, under the effect of a spring (147), urges saidslide against positioning pegs (145) disposed on faces opposite from thefaces on which said pusher (146) acts directly.
 15. An apparatus forautomatically digitizing slides according to claim 1, characterized inthat the slide feed assembly (2) and the slide reception assembly (2')are disposed in line on opposite sides of the central turntable (15),the first and second transfer systems (14, 21) being disposeddiametrically opposite each other on opposite sides of the centralturntable (15).
 16. An apparatus for automatically digitizing slidesaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the slide feed assembly (2)and the slide reception assembly are the same, constituting a singleassembly including a single removable magazine (11).
 17. An apparatusfor automatically digitizing slides according to claim 16, characterizedin that it comprises a single transfer system (14) serving firstly tofeed the central turntable (15) with slides from a first storage element(12) of the removable magazine (11) of the single feed and receptionassembly (2), and secondly to transfer slides after digitizing from thecentral turntable (15) to a second storage element (12) of saidremovable magazine (11).
 18. An apparatus for digitizing slidesaccording to claim 16, characterized in that the single removablemagazine (11) is stationary and is constituted by two storage elements(12) that slide between three pairs of guide elements (175), said guideelements and said storage elements thus bearing against a cylindricalsurface.
 19. An apparatus for automatically digitizing slides accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the central turntable 915) is a rotaryturntable under digital control and includes, in addition to thedigitizing and input station (D), at least one of the followingadditional stations: a station for displaying the frame of a slide; astation for repositioning a slide by means of a manipulator; a stationfor reading characters on the frame of a slide by optical characterrecognition; a station for reading bar codes that appear on the frame ofa slide; a station for deleting inscriptions that appear on the frame ofa slide; alphanumeric marking station for writing alphanumericcharacters on the frame of a slide; a bar code marking station forwriting bar codes on the frame of a slide; a reject station forrejecting unsatisfactory slides; and a de-dusting station.
 20. Aremovable element for storing slides, characterized in that it is in theform of an open topped vertical bar of square section adapted to theformat of slide frames and of a height adapted to a desired storagevolume, in that one of the longitudinal faces of the bar includes anopening (121) of limited width up its entire length, and in that thestorage element (12) includes a bottom (122) in which an opening (123)is formed of section smaller than that of the slides, thereby enablingthe slides to be stacked and unstacked by means of a pusher (190)penetrating through said opening (123).
 21. A removable storage elementaccording to claim 20, characterized in that it includes a taperedbottom end (125) and a top end (127) that extends to one of thelongitudinal faces of the storage element (12) and that is pierced by ahole (126), said bottom and top ends (125, 127) co-operating withpositioning means formed in a removable vertical magazine (11) forreceiving said storage element (12).
 22. A removable storage elementaccording to claim 20, characterized in that it comprises a channelsection bar (129) connected via hinges (130) to two angle bars (131), aclamp (132) tilting about fixing holes (133) formed in the channelsection bar (129) to engage in locking holes (134) formed in the anglebars (131), thereby closing said storage element (12) which said hinges(130) enable to be opened when the clamp (132) is raised.
 23. Aremovable storage element according to claim 20, characterized in thatit further includes a longitudinal rectilinear tongue (124) formed onone of its inside faces and designed to co-operate with a notch formedin the edge of each slide.
 24. A removable storage element according toany one of claims 20 to 23, characterized in that it is perforated withdifferent patterns and includes, in particular, a diagonal slot (128)formed in a longitudinal face to enable the classification of the slidesto be inspected visually.
 25. An apparatus for automatically digitizingslides, the apparatus comprising a slide feed assembly (2), at least onedigitizing and input station (D), and an assembly (2') for receivingslides that have been digitized in this way, the apparatus beingcharacterized in that each feed and reception assembly (2, 2') includesat least one drawer (6) containing a vertical removable magazine (11)and including at least one removable slide storage element (12), and inthat it includes at least one transfer system (14, 21) serving firstlyto feed slides from a storage element (12) of said removable magazine(11) at least to said digitizing and input station (D), and secondly totransfer slides after digitizing from said station (D) to a storageelement (12) of a removable magazine (11) placed in said receptionassembly (2') .
 26. An apparatus for automatically digitizing slidesaccording to claim 25, characterized in that said storage element (12)is in the form of an open topped vertical bar of square section adaptedto the slides to be digitized and of height adapted to the desiredstorage volume, one of the longitudinal faces of the bar having anopening (121) of limited width running up its entire height, and in thatsaid storage element (12) includes a bottom (122) in which an opening(123) is formed of section smaller than that of the slides to enable theslides to be stacked and unstacked by means of a pusher (190)penetrating through said opening.
 27. An apparatus for automaticallydigitizing slides according to claim 25, characterized in that saidstorage element 912) includes a tapering bottom end (125) and a top end(127) that extends one of the longitudinal faces of the storage element(12) and that is pierced by a hole (126), said bottom and top ends (125,127) co-operating with positioning means formed in a removable verticalmagazine (11) for receiving said storage element (12), the apparatusbeing characterized in that said removable magazine (11) includes anintermediate plate (112) and a bottom plate (113) which are stationaryand include aligned openings (116, 115) for receiving a storage element(12), and in that the opening (115) formed in the bottom plate (113) iscomplementary in shape to the shape of the tapering bottom end (125) ofa storage element (12) so as to position the storage element vertically.28. An apparatus according to claim 25, characterized in that itincludes a removable magazine designed to contain two storage elements(12), one for feeding slides and the other for receiving said slides.